As the blackness enfolded her, she felt intense gratitude for the end of sensation. She pulled the darkness to herself like a lover, sinking into its embrace with relief.
CHAPTER 14
Joshua awoke to a pain across his chest, the seatbelt pulled taut and digging into him. He panicked, looking for Bella, but then the reality came rushing back in.
Looking to his companions, he saw that while all of them seemed to be in various stages of unconsciousness, none of them appeared dead. A stream of blood flowed down the side of Reggie’s face, but the lurch in his stomach settled when he saw her chest gently rise and fall with her breath.
They were far from okay, but it didn’t seem that any were suffering from serious injuries. It would take a closer examination to find out for sure, but Joshua couldn’t really do that sitting upside down in a crumpled up wreck of a car.
The door was bent shut, and it took several sharp blows with his feet to get it open. He squirmed his way out, making sure that there were no sharp edges that would cut into him as he groped his way into the light.
He pulled open the driver’s side door, which squealed in protest. Reggie looked like she was coming to, her eyes flickering and one of her hands moving up to cradle the wound on the side of her head. A groan escaped her mouth.
She opened her eyes, blinking against the sudden light from the sun that was beating down upon her. “What…? Where…?”
“The car rolled,” Joshua answered, kneeling down and palpating her limbs with care to make sure there was nothing broken. She seemed sound enough. “Can you get out?”
“I… Yeah. Think so.” Moving each limb on its own, Reggie began the process of getting herself out of the seatbelt. Seeing that she was doing all right on her own, Joshua moved around to the back of the car on the passenger side to check on Coop.
The BAU agent had already released herself from her seatbelt and was worming her way out of a shattered window when Joshua got there. He held her arm to give her additional leverage so she didn’t have to put any pressure on the edge of glass that still remained intact.
“You okay?”
She glanced up into his face and grunted. “About like you, I would imagine.”
Joshua had no reflective surface by which to gauge what that meant, but he took it as a good sign that she was communicating in a coherent fashion. Once her legs were planted in a more-or-less secure fashion on the ground, he turned to see how Had was faring. Coop seemed to see his attention shift.
“He hasn’t moved.”
Scanning over the young cop’s body, Joshua could spot nothing overt that might account for the lack of consciousness, although he was relieved to observe that he was still breathing. There appeared to be no bleeding injuries, but Had could have struck his head and have nothing more than a swollen bump.
Running his hands over the man’s scalp, it didn’t take long to find it. There, on the back left side, was a large, hard goose egg. It was unclear what had caused it, but it was clear that Had was down for the count, and Joshua had no idea when he might wake up. He leaned back, pulling Had’s cell phone out of his friend’s pocket.
No reception.
“Either of you have any bars?” Joshua asked, holding Had’s phone up in the vain hope he might find something… at least a trace of reception. He didn’t hold out much hope. They were in the middle of a mostly abandoned town that had a fire raging underneath it. It wouldn’t be a big priority for cell phone carriers to put towers out where they wouldn’t see any use.
“Nothing for me,” Coop answered, and Reggie held up her own phone and shook her head. They were stuck out here with a totaled car, an unconscious companion, and a serial killer who knew their whereabouts. This had not been Joshua’s best idea.
“I’m going back to search the hole,” he said, moving off once more toward the pit in the ground that had tried to swallow their car whole.
“Watch yourself,” Coop called from the car. “That doesn’t look even close to being stable.”
“Really?” Joshua muttered to himself, “I never would have dreamed that might be the case.”
“I heard that.”
The hole that had opened up in the road was about ten or twenty meters away. What had happened here? While the sign warned of possible collapse, he’d done his research. Plenty of thrill seekers, or players of the video game Silent Hill that was based off Centralia came out here looking for a creepy time. The incidence of accidents occurring here was next to nil.
He approached the edges of the pit with caution, making sure to test the ground with each step forward. But as he came up to the hole, he saw something that, if he hadn’t been looking closely, he would have missed. There were char marks along one of the walls of the fissure. Remnants of the bomb that had gone off underneath the ground, turning a weak spot into a death trap.
This had been a deliberate act.
The knowledge made Joshua feel exposed. Someone had been here. Near enough to watch for their arrival. Within striking distance.
Why were they all still alive?
It was possible that Salazar had seen the car roll and just assumed that they were dead or close enough to it that he didn’t need to take any further action. But while that might have fit Joshua’s original assessment of the agent, it didn’t fit his knowledge of the way Humpty’s protégé had operated since this journey had begun.
No, the lack of follow up was another deliberate act. A choice made by a calculating and manipulative mind. One that would let the rats loose in the maze and then sit back to watch what they would do.
Well, Joshua had no intention of being a rat for some sick bastard’s amusement. The hole went down about eight or nine feet, and smoke curled up from its depths. It was deep enough that if the car had gone in, they would have been even worse off than they had been. Slamming into the ground at 65 miles per hour might have killed them all instantly. The roll had allowed them to lose momentum before the car struck the tree off on the side of the road.
“Anything there?” Reggie called out.
“It was deliberate,” he said, pushing back away from the edge. “Salazar planted a bomb down there.” As he moved, a large chunk of earth crumbled out from underneath his feet, nearly pitching him into the crater. He stepped back even farther, trembling.
“That means he’s close,” Agent Cooper replied. “Fantastic. We have no car. We’re miles from civilization. Had’s hurt…”
Joshua nodded, his thoughts elsewhere. There had to be something. Humpty was playing with them again. These were all purposeful acts. The man had an end game, but Joshua couldn’t for the life of him see what it was.
“We’re missing some detail,” he muttered. “Some little fact that would bring this all into focus. I know it.”
Reggie stiffened. “Wait. There was something in that last note. The one we found in Lobo’s room.”
Cooper seemed to zero in on this idea. “What do you mean?”
“The stuff about friends, Romans and countrymen.”
Joshua nodded. “That was just a Julius Caesar reference. He was making a sick joke off the ‘lend me your ears’ thing.”
“No, I got that,” she responded. “But what if it was more than that?” She reached out a hand. “Joshua, can you go grab Had’s phone? I think he still has that map of Centralia pulled up on his phone.”
He jogged over to fish Had’s phone out of his pocket, doing what he could to keep from moving the young cop too much, and then moved over toward Reggie, opening up the map application on the cell. There was no reception, so it just showed the last view the cop had pulled up, one that gave a bird’s eye view of the layout of Centralia.
“There it is,” she gushed, her eyes widening as she looked at the layout of the town there in front of them.
“Um. There what is?” He had no idea what she was talking about.
“Remember my forte?” Reggie answered. “History. And this map of Centralia is a near perfect duplicate of anc
ient Rome. See that outcropping there, where we are right now? That fits in with the geography of the seat of the Roman Empire.”
“Okay, that’s great,” Coop interjected. “But how--?”
“No, wait. I think I see where you’re going,” Joshua interrupted her. “Humpty said he’d meet us in hell. Centralia, right? But what if that wasn’t all he meant.”
“That’s what I was talking about. The ‘lend me an ear’ thing doesn’t really play out. It’s a one-off joke, and not a very good one. Not really Humpty’s style.”
“But this isn’t Humpty, is it?” Coop asked. “I mean, we’re talking about one of his acolytes that’s doing all this.”
Joshua shook his head. “No. I mean yes, but not completely. Those notes were vintage Humpty. It was him. He was involved on some level here.” He turned back to Reggie. “So what does this mean in terms of where we can find him?”
Zooming in on the map, Reggie pointed to an area just to the north of the intersection of the two main roads running through Centralia, Big Mine Run Road and Locust Avenue. It was where the town’s municipal building and firehouse was still standing. They were currently about a half-mile from the crossroads, as far as Joshua could tell. The building was about another quarter-mile farther on.
“Caesar was killed at the Temple of Pompey, which if we overlay the maps would roughly translate to this location here.”
Joshua thought for a moment. They couldn’t call in for any help for Had. It was three miles to the nearest gas station, and maybe two miles to get back to where they had some cell phone reception. There were no good answers here.
Cooper spoke up. “I think we should leave you two here with Had while I try to get to a place where I can make a call. It’s the only option that makes sense.”
It was a sensible idea. Any training manual for any law enforcement agency anywhere in the world would probably give the exact same advice. But it didn’t sit well with Joshua.
“This is a situation set up by Humpy. He wants me there. Staying here is just making it more dangerous for anyone who’s with me.”
“So, what?” the agent responded. “No matter what we do, someone’s at risk. We could leave two here, send one person for help.”
Joshua shook his head. “It’s a coward move. The letter was addressed to me. I think if I don’t go in to that intersection, you two and Had will end up being the next victims.”
“You can’t know that,” Coop challenged him.
“You’re right. I can’t. But you’ve studied Humpty more than anyone else but me. Now you try to tell me that doesn’t fit in with what you know of him.”
Agent Cooper opened her mouth, then closed it. “I’ll head into town. You and Reggie stay with Had. That’s final.”
Joshua started to argue again, but realized looking into Coop’s face that there was no way she was backing down from this. She was going for help, and things were going to go to hell because of it.
“Whatever,” he answered.
Agent Cooper gave him another long, hard look. “I’ll send an ambulance here for Had.” Turning on her heel, she moved off in the opposite direction of the ghost town. She would be gone at least twenty minutes before she’d be able to reach anyone.
He waited until she had disappeared from view around a long bend before standing back up and starting off toward the municipal building. Reggie sprang up from her seat, following after him.
“Where are you going?”
“Where do you think?” He kept walking.
“Joshua, you have to stay here,” she called out after him.
But he just kept moving. She couldn’t leave Had, so she would be safe enough. And as for Joshua? He didn’t really care if he was safe or not.
He just wanted to rescue his dog.
* * *
Sariah had felt weak and useless many times in the last few days and weeks, but never more so than right now. Literally, she was doing the task that Lassie used to do in the old TV series. Lassie, go tell Ma that Jimmy’s fallen down the well.
Going to call in the cavalry might be heroic for a collie, but for the lead agent chasing one of the most notorious killers in the past two decades, it was a bit of a step down. And it was one that she had taken of her own volition.
They knew where Humpty was, or at the least his protégé, but Sariah was going in the opposite direction. Joshua’s words rang in her ear. It was a coward move.
She’d taken a triangular path, heading both south and then east. The nearest gas station wasn’t located back along the route they’d taken earlier. If she were to go that way, her search would take another hour at least.
The buzzing of her cell interrupted her train of thought. Apparently she had gotten to a place where there was more coverage. She berated herself for not checking more closely as she walked.
Swiping at the screen, she held the phone up to her ear. “Agent Cooper speaking.”
“Oh, Agent Cooper, I’m so glad I caught you,” the voice on the other end of the line gushed. “I’m Candace Chandler, with the crime--”
“Okay, okay, hold on,” Sariah cut her off. “I need you to call dispatch, get them to send out at least five squad cars and a dozen officers. Oh, and a tow truck.”
There was a pause, and when Candace spoke again, it was clear she was flustered. “Uh, okay… Um, where are you?”
“Send them to Centralia. Now. Route 61, south of town.”
“Oh, I… yes. I think I can do that.”
“Good.” Sariah went to hang up the phone, but then realized she hadn’t heard why the call had been made in the first place. “You wanted to talk to me?”
“Right. Ah, yes. Results.” The woman cleared her throat, and when she began again, she sounded much more in control. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for a half-hour. You wanted the DNA results on the ear as soon as you got them.”
“Yes,” Sariah answered, trying to keep the impatience out of her voice as she turned around and headed back toward Centralia.
“Well, we verified that the victim was indeed female. But there were some other results that seemed a bit odd.”
“Odd?” Sariah asked, her blood going to ice in her veins. There was no accounting for her reaction until the investigator kept talking.
Then that chill, and so much more, made sense. And Sariah broke out in a sprint, cutting directly toward the ghost town. Maybe she could get there before Joshua got impatient and went in himself.
She only prayed she could get there in time.
* * *
Reggie had never liked being alone. Being alone in the middle of an abandoned town with a mine fire burning underneath her feet was so far past her comfort zone. She was pretty sure she couldn’t even see where that soothing, enveloping place was from where she was standing.
She kicked at the crumbling asphalt of the road. Standing on the shoulder of the road that led into town, she stretched her gaze as far as she could, hoping to catch sight of Joshua. It was a useless endeavor, and she knew it. He’d left five minutes ago, more than long enough to disappear from sight.
Moving back toward the car, Reggie rounded the rear end of the vehicle that jutted out from the tree into which they had crashed at an almost ninety degree angle. They were lucky that any of them were alive. One foot more to the left or right and someone would have been killed.
She knelt down in front of Had, checking his vitals. His pulse was strong and steady, his breathing free and unrestrained. There didn’t appear to be any breaks or even significant damage to his body, other than the lump on his head.
Sitting back on her heels, Reggie wiped a hand across her face. The air, which had been almost stifling about a half hour ago, was now cooling off to uncomfortably warm. As she squatted down close to the earth, she imagined she could feel the heat radiating upward from the coal fire somewhere underneath.
Her musings were interrupted by a moaning from the car. Had was waking up.
“Wha…? Izzit? M
mmph,” he muttered in an incomprehensible gout of sounds.
“Had?” Reggie moved in closer to her friend, looking to see if Had’s now open eyes appeared to be equal and reactive, not that she really knew what that meant.
“Reggie?” he asked, squinting. He held a hand up to his head, then winced in pain. “What the…? What happened? Where is everybody?”
“I wrecked the car. Salazar tried to blow us up. Joshua’s gone to meet him and Coop’s gone for help.”
“Too much,” Had groaned, flopping back into his seat. “All I got was car wreck.”
“Don’t worry. Just rest for a minute.” Reggie reached into her purse. “You want some water? I have a bottle I was saving for you.”
Had reached out a hand and guzzled down a quarter of the container in what seemed like one gulp. Sighing, he wiped his mouth and looked at Reggie.
“So everyone’s gone but us?” He watched as she nodded assent, then mused for a moment. “Okay, so who’s it going to be?”
“What?”
Had grimaced as he moved to unbuckle his seatbelt, still fastened around his lap and chest. They hadn’t wanted to remove it for fear of injuring him further.
“Coop or Joshua? Who do we follow?”
Oh. Reggie hadn’t really thought that far ahead. Part of her was still wondering if it was such a good idea for Had to be doing anything but resting.
“Had, come on. You probably have a concussion. You’ve been out for a while.”
“Concussion? Haven’t you listened to a single word my mama’s said? My skull’s a solid rock.” He rapped on his forehead, only cringing a bit when he did so. “Nothing up there to hurt.”
Pushing himself to his feet, Had swayed a bit as he gained his balance and put a hand out to rest on the smashed up remnants of the Bureau’s car. That was one that was going to be tough to explain when they got back. The vehicle groaned and shifted a bit with the change in weight, but a moment later Had was standing unassisted.
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